When users in virtual computing environments obtain guest virtual machines for their use, protection of sensitive data equal to or above that provided in a traditional computing environment is beneficial. However, because the user's data on the guest virtual machine exists in the cloud environment, certain security risks for sensitive data may be heightened. Data security policies internal to a cloud provider apply to the virtual machine environment only. Accordingly, an intruder may copy the guest virtual machine's virtual disc, mount it on a separate machine and attempt to access the data. Accordingly, the intruder is able to bypass the file protection rules that apply inside the running virtual machine.